Sunway University has achieved a significant milestone by becoming the only private university in Malaysia and ASEAN to be ranked in all three of the world’s most prestigious university rankings: Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, QS World University Rankings, and Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).
Established in 2003, the ARWU, also known as the Shanghai Ranking, focuses highly on institutional research performance, quality of academic staff, and the achievements of students and alumni. Key criteria include the number of research articles indexed in the Web of Science and number of highly cited authors, both areas that Sunway has seen significant advancements in recent years. Unlike other rankings where universities submit applications, ARWU benchmarks and recognises institutions based on publicly available data from independent and established repositories and databases.
In Malaysia, only four other universities—Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, and Universiti Putra Malaysia, all of whom are research-intensive public universities have been ranked in the ARWU rankings. Sunway University’s inclusion in the ARWU is a testament to its significant investment in research and development that has led to the rapid growth in high-quality research output and impact. Furthermore, the University was also ranked in the top 300 globally in the field of Energy Science and Engineering, an area where Sunway University continues to invest significantly in with the introduction of various new flagship engineering degree programmes (Electrical and Electronics, Mechanical, Chemical, Civil, and Mechatronics (Robotics) at its School of Engineering and Technology.
This latest recognition highlights Sunway University’s potential for growth in other academic disciplines as it aims to qualify for more field-specific rankings in the future, especially in business, medicine, computer science, arts and social sciences.
Professor Sibrandes Poppema, President of Sunway University stated that, “This ranking reflects Sunway University’s mission as an education-focussed, research-intensive and impact driven, not for profit private university. This latest achievement is a result of the steadfast dedication and continued excellence of our staff, whose hard work has driven our rise in these prestigious rankings. We will continue to enhance our research infrastructure and research output as well as continue to foster innovation and excellence across all disciplines. Sunway University’s presence on the global stage reflects our vision as a world-class university that not only impacts the region, but also the world.”
Sunway University is a class above because of the values it embeds in its students and the value it creates for the society at large. This continued excellence across the various prestigious global rankings is testament to the institutional efforts to realise the Foundation Chancellor, Tan Sri Sir Dr Jeffrey Cheah’s vision for Sunway University to one day be recognised as the “Harvard or Cambridge of the East”.